I-Corps: An Argon Power Cycle for Zero Emissions, Flexible and Efficient Power Generation

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是解决由于目前的能源供应生态系统而导致的减缓全球变暖和空气质量恶化的日益严峻的挑战。由于能源消耗增加而出现的经济繁荣时期，进一步加剧了这一挑战。由于发电部门是一次能源的最大消费者，也是全球温室气体和空气污染物排放的最大贡献者之一，因此需要加快可再生能源的部署。然而，由于可再生能源作为能源的间歇性，需要解决方案，以具有竞争力的效率提供灵活可靠的供应，同时也与全球经济脱碳努力保持一致。今天，通过增加分布式天然气燃烧能力，部分应对了这一挑战，促使天然气使用量在过去20年里几乎翻了一番。该项目将专注于一种解决方案，在提供灵活和基准高效电力的同时产生零大气排放。这不仅支持了环境方面的努力，也符合基本的经济学原理，使碳捕获成为一个消费者和生产者都能受益的有吸引力的案例。这个i-Corp项目将探索一种基于日益常见的往复式发动机的新型动力解决方案的商业潜力，通过这种解决方案，其效率将从根本上提高，并消除空气污染物和温室气体排放。传统燃气轮机和往复式发动机目前的解决方案排放大量颗粒物和一氧化二氮，无法解决人们对空气质量的担忧。联合循环燃气轮机等能效基准技术无法跟踪电力需求波动，也无法通过碳捕获措施以成本效益的方式减少碳足迹。该项目将潜在地解决同时灵活、高效和清洁电力的未得到满足的需求，提出一种改造技术，提供过渡到公用事业规模的氢能存储解决方案。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is to address the growing challenge of mitigating global warming and air quality deterioration as a result of the present energy supply ecosystem. This challenge is further exacerbated by periods of economic prosperity due to an increase in energy consumption. With the power generation sector being the biggest consumer of primary energy and one of the largest contributors to greenhouse and air pollutant emissions worldwide, an accelerated deployment of renewable energy is needed. However, due to renewables' intermittency as an energy source, there is a need for solutions that provide a flexible and reliable supply at a competitive efficiency while also aligning with global efforts to decarbonize the economy. Today, this challenge is partially met with addition of distributed natural gas fired capacity, motivating natural gas usage to nearly double in the last two decades. This project will focus on a solution to provide flexible and benchmark efficient power while generating zero atmospheric emissions. This not only supports environmental efforts, but also aligns with basic economics, making it an appealing case for carbon capture where both the consumer and producer benefit. This I-Corp project will explore the commercial potential of a novel power solution based on the increasingly common reciprocating engine, by which its efficiency is radically increased and both air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions are eliminated. Current solutions with traditional gas turbines and reciprocating engines fail to address air quality concerns by emitting high volumes of particulate matter and nitrous oxides. Efficiency benchmark technologies such as combined cycle gas turbines are unable to follow power demand fluctuations, nor are they able to cost effectively reduce their carbon footprint through carbon capture measures. This project will potentially address the unmet need for simultaneously flexible, efficient and clean power by proposing a retrofit technology that provides a transition into a utility scale hydrogen energy storage solution.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.